By Ian Lamont

Do you have an entrepreneurial spirit? Do you dream how great it would be to be your own boss? Do you have an idea, a business model, a better mousetrap that you know would be successful if you started your own business?

You may, indeed, be ready to launch a successful business, but if you want to increase your chances of success there are a number of things you should not do.

Too often, budding entrepreneurs spend all of their time imagining their success and how they will spend all the money they will make – all before they actually figure out what their specific products or services are, how they will sell or market them, and whom their actual customers are.

There are a number of things that any budding entrepreneur should do. The Internet offers hundreds of articles that list the fundamentals an entrepreneur should follow before starting a business. I wanted to take the opposite approach. I wanted to list things that budding entrepreneurs should avoid doing.

Don’t quit your day job. Rely on reliable employment until you have actually gone out and proved your business model.

Test your business model. How do you do that? You take whatever you are going to generate revenue with and you prove you can sell it – not just to family and friends, but to a broad range of your potential customers.

Most of the time, you will need to adjust your thoughts. Under the best of circumstances, your adjustments will be
minor and you will have proved you have a viable business.

Unfortunately, most entrepreneurs will find their business model has significant problems: Your product does not sell, or at least not at the price you want or need. You don’t have enough customers – or the whole thing is a fiasco.

Do not allow your ego or pride to make decisions for you. Avoid the pitfalls listed below; rather than ego and pride making decisions, you will find you are making it happen using wisdom.

Question the amount of start-up capital you need. The most frequent reason for business failures has nothing to do with how good the business idea or model is. It is due to being under-funded.

If you spend all of your savings establishing your business, you won’t have any money left to grow your business. So if you think you have enough start-up capital, think again.

In addition to not quitting your day job, proving your business model and questioning the amount of start-up capital you need, here are other things to avoid before you decide to truly start your business:

Don’t incorporate until your business is well established and well on its way to success. Three out of four businesses are sole proprietorships. You can always incorporate at a later date.

Don’t get a bank account. Your personal banking account will work just fine if someone wants to write you a check, or if you need to pay for something.

Don’t rent an office. Work from home. It won’t tie up your capital that needs to be invested in the business.
Don’t hire an attorney. What’s an attorney going to tell you that you didn’t already know, or couldn’t figure out on Sbdc4biz.org, Legalzoom.com, Nolo.com or in a good bookstore? If your business is successful, you’ll know when you need an attorney.

Don’t hire an accountant. QuickBooks gives you all you need, and good business people really know the numbers. Again, if your business is successful, you’ll know when you need an accountant.

Don’t hire anyone. Do it yourself, and for everything else use an independent contractor for the specific job you need.

Don’t get a business license. First, prove the viability of your business. Once you have, go out immediately and get all of the necessary business licenses and permits in your jurisdiction.

Don’t try to patent anything. It takes 1.5 to 2.5 years to get a patent. Besides that, patents don’t really protect much unless you are prepared to incur significant legal expenses and waste years in enforcement.

Don’t buy office supplies or equipment. Working from home, you probably have everything you need around you. Out-source everything, and if you absolutely need a piece of equipment, rent it.

Don’t try to find a partner. Need someone with some sales experience? If you, as the inventor of your product/service, can’t sell it, no one will be able to.

Don’t write a 50-page business plan. Keep it concise and focused. As your business grows, your plan can grow. It is a living document that you need to continue to update as your business changes.

Don’t get a business telephone number or mailing address. You have a cell phone – use it. If someone needs to mail you something, have them send it to your house. You’re working there, remember?

Ian Lamont now works with his two sons at The Lamont Group (TLG). Recently retired, Ian spend the last 18 years of his career as a CEO of multimedia and energy businesses. At TLG Ian's focus is assisting individuals and organizations to succeed and grow. Ian can be reached via e-mail at ian@lamontgroup.biz or by calling 562-544-5822. For more information on TLG go to: www.thelamontgroup.com. Lamont's column reflects his own views and not necessarily those of the Long Beach Business Journal.